Photo: Tina Cordon · CC BY-SA 3.078% of Heage’s residents live within a 5-minute walk of a park
The Peak District National Park begins 6.0 mi from the town’s edge. Footpaths add up to 38 km in the town and the kilometre around it, 3.1 for every square kilometre. Parks and playing fields in Heage add up to 1.9 ha for every 1,000 residents; the typical UK town has 2.1. Heage grades C for the outdoors: #49 of 59 in Derbyshire. A character grade: it isn’t part of the overall grade.
Heage grades C for the outdoors
Each chart is every UK town of 1,000 or more on one measure: the green bar is Heage, the dashed line the typical town. The number is the share of towns it beats; the five are averaged and the average ranked again.
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Graded, never part of the overall grade (like History and Civic life). It measures what is mapped: OS Open Greenspace leaves out woodland and open-access land that isn’t a park, and OpenStreetMap’s rural paths are more complete in some places than others.
Heage is 39th of 60 UK towns its size for the outdoors
The 60 UK towns and cities of 2,500 to 2,700 people with an Outdoors Grade. Hover a dot for its figures; tap one for its page.
Against towns its size, Heage stands out most for path per km²: only 18 of the other 59 have more. It falls furthest behind on park space per resident, where 34 of the others do better.
Show as a table
| Town | Outdoors | Green space | Near a park | Path per km² | Protected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Petworth West Sussex | A+ | 29.6 | 100% | 4.1 | 93% |
| 2 | Tywardreath Cornwall | A+ | 4.6 | 100% | 2.5 | 26% |
| 3 | Ambleside Cumbria | A+ | 6.9 | 92% | 4.6 | 100% |
| 4 | Silloth Cumbria | A+ | 7.3 | 100% | 1.4 | 17% |
| 5 | Hopton on Sea Norfolk | A+ | 6.7 | 100% | 1.6 | 2% |
| 6 | Hellingly East Sussex | A | 6.9 | 90% | 3.7 | 11% |
| 7 | Dolgellau Gwynedd | A | 3.6 | 100% | 1.9 | 100% |
| 8 | Binley Woods Warwickshire | A | 5.5 | 100% | 4.3 | 0% |
| 9 | Hawley Hampshire | A | 6.9 | 92% | 5.8 | 0% |
| 10 | Maple Cross Hertfordshire | A | 3.1 | 100% | 2.9 | 14% |
| 11 | Chopwell Tyne and Wear | A | 7.5 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 12 | Longford Gloucestershire | A | 11.9 | 100% | 3.3 | 0% |
| 13 | Darenth Kent | A− | 1.8 | 100% | 4.3 | 1% |
| 14 | Drybrook Gloucestershire | A− | 3.9 | 83% | 3.4 | 10% |
| 15 | South Anston South Yorkshire | A− | 3.5 | 100% | 3.4 | 0% |
| 16 | Stewartby Bedfordshire | A− | 21 | 100% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 17 | Avonmouth Bristol | B+ | 2.5 | 100% | 1.8 | 0% |
| 18 | Langold Nottinghamshire | B+ | 13 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 19 | Porthmadog Gwynedd | B+ | 0.9 | 94% | 2 | 41% |
| 20 | Thornley County Durham | B+ | 3.2 | 100% | 2.9 | 0% |
| 21 | Witton Gilbert County Durham | B+ | 2.1 | 100% | 3.9 | 0% |
| 22 | Craven Arms Shropshire | B | 1.3 | 87% | 2.9 | 59% |
| 23 | Prestbury Cheshire | B | 5.6 | 42% | 3.2 | 6% |
| 24 | Barlestone Leicestershire | B | 3 | 100% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 25 | Builth Wells Powys | B | 4.9 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 26 | Brynamman Dyfed | B | 1.7 | 100% | 1 | 51% |
| 27 | Pannal North Yorkshire | B− | 3.7 | 77% | 3 | 0% |
| 28 | Coundon and Leeholme County Durham | B− | 4.4 | 100% | 1 | 0% |
| 29 | Brewood Staffordshire | B− | 3 | 100% | 1.6 | 0% |
| 30 | Seer Green Buckinghamshire | B− | 1.7 | 38% | 3.8 | 35% |
| 31 | Grimsargh Lancashire | B− | 2.6 | 67% | 2.8 | 2% |
| 32 | Ash Green Warwickshire | B− | 3.4 | 67% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 33 | Bishop's Itchington Warwickshire | C+ | 1.5 | 100% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 34 | Little Dunmow Essex | C+ | 1.1 | 89% | 3.8 | 0% |
| 35 | Dunchurch Warwickshire | C+ | 7.8 | 68% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 36 | Caton Lancashire | C+ | 1.2 | 72% | 2.2 | 67% |
| 37 | Steeple Claydon Buckinghamshire | C+ | 1.5 | 100% | 2.2 | 0% |
| 38 | Stratton Gloucestershire | C | 0.7 | 46% | 3.3 | 70% |
| 39 | Heage Derbyshire | C | 1.9 | 78% | 3.1 | 0% |
| 40 | Watlington Norfolk | C | 2.3 | 100% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 41 | South Brent Devon | C | 1.5 | 79% | 0.8 | 64% |
| 42 | Smallfield Surrey | C | 1.6 | 70% | 2.4 | 1% |
| 43 | Llandybie Dyfed | C | 2.6 | 59% | 1.2 | 13% |
| 44 | Marham Norfolk | C | 3.5 | 85% | 0.4 | 0% |
| 45 | Ash (Dover) Kent | C | 2.3 | 72% | 2.4 | 0% |
| 46 | Higham Kent | C− | 0.5 | 0% | 1.8 | 18% |
| 47 | Hatton Derbyshire | C− | 3.3 | 61% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 48 | Costessey Norfolk | C− | 1.8 | 12% | 3.5 | 0% |
| 49 | Loggerheads Staffordshire | C− | 1.2 | 86% | 2.1 | 0% |
| 50 | Cliffe Kent | C− | 1.1 | 55% | 1.9 | 0% |
| 51 | Probus Cornwall | C− | 0.6 | 75% | 1.5 | 15% |
| 52 | Keele Staffordshire | D | 1.1 | 0% | 3.6 | 0% |
| 53 | Fordham Cambridgeshire | D | 2.3 | 35% | 1.7 | 0% |
| 54 | Silverstone Northamptonshire | D | 1.1 | 0% | 2.8 | 0% |
| 55 | Watton at Stone Hertfordshire | D | 0.8 | 61% | 2.3 | 0% |
| 56 | Manea Cambridgeshire | D− | 1.3 | 63% | 1 | 0% |
| 57 | Holme upon Spalding Moor East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 1.5 | 41% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 58 | Nafferton East Riding of Yorkshire | D− | 1.3 | 56% | 0.6 | 0% |
| 59 | Rhos West Glamorgan | D− | 1 | 58% | 0.8 | 0% |
| 60 | Cranwell Lincolnshire | D− | 0.5 | 57% | 1.1 | 0% |
Parks, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Heage’s built-up area.
How close Heage’s homes are to a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (Census 2021 output areas against OS Open Greenspace).
About 600 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees; 30 playgrounds are mapped in and around the town, about one for every 86 residents.
The Peak District National Park is 6.0 mi away
Protected landscapes within 30 km, by direction and distance from the edge of the built-up area; circle size shows each one’s area. National Landscapes were called Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty until 2023.
Protected landscape begins just outside the 5 km ring the Outdoors Grade measures, so Heage scores 0% on it even though the Peak District National Park is 6.0 mi away. Peak District National Park covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
7 waymarked walks pass through or near Heage
38 km of footpaths, bridleways and rights of way are mapped in Heage and the kilometre around it, 3.1 km for every square kilometre (the typical UK town has 3.0). Bars show each route’s kilometres within 2 km of the town.
The regional route here is the Derwent Valley Heritage Way.
Waymarked walks are OpenStreetMap walking routes. Public rights of way are only as complete as the map in each area.
The best walking months in Heage: May to September
The town’s 1991–2020 averages (Met Office HadUK-Grid) and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have 12½+ hours of daylight, highs of 15 °C or more and little rain for the town.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.1 | 9.8 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.8 | 16.9 | 16.4 | 14.7 | 12.6 | 10.5 | 8.6 | 7.6 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 69 | 53 | 50 | 54 | 54 | 66 | 64 | 62 | 59 | 79 | 78 | 79 |
March is the driest month (50 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 22 °C). Winter days are short, about 8 hours of daylight in December, and 79 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 48 nights a year. The climate in Heage →
30 playgrounds and the nearest beaches
Mapped within 2 km of the town in OpenStreetMap, against the typical UK town its size per resident. Named places are listed with directions; unnamed ones are only counted.
The nearest beaches
Heage is inland. These are the nearest named beaches, measured from the edge of the town.
Check the water before you swim. The Environment Agency tests designated bathing waters from May to September and publishes a rating for each beach.
Up high. Bessalone, at 182 m, is the highest named top within 2 km of Heage.
Every named place, with directions
Hills and peaks 1
Nature reserves 1
Playgrounds 30
Plus 30 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Campsites 1
The outdoors in nearby towns
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 12 miles. Tap a town for its outdoors page.
Ambergate, 1.2 miles away, grades B+, the best next door: every resident lives within 400 m of a park. Holbrook has at least twice Heage’s green space per resident. None of the neighbours has a protected landscape within 5 km either.
Questions about the outdoors in Heage
Is Heage near a National Park?
Yes. Peak District National Park begins 6.0 mi north-west of the town’s edge. It covers 1,438 km² and has been a National Park since 1951.
What are the best walks near Heage?
7 waymarked walking routes pass within 2 km of the town, including the Cromford Canal Footpath, Derwent Valley Heritage Way and Amber Valley Routeway Walk 8.
What is the nearest beach to Heage?
The Beach, 18 mi from the edge of the town. Heage itself is inland.
How many people in Heage live near a park?
78% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a public park, garden or playing field (Census 2021 output areas against OS Open Greenspace). The typical UK town is 83%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Heage?
May to September: the longest days, the warmest afternoons and the least rain of the year, from the Met Office 1991–2020 averages.
Is Heage good for walking?
For paths, yes: 3.1 km of footpath and right of way per square kilometre, more than 62% of UK towns. For park space per person it beats 42% (1.9 ha per 1,000 residents).
How is the Outdoors Grade worked out?
From five measures, each placed among UK towns of 1,000 or more: public green space per resident, the share living near a park, National Park or National Landscape within 5 km, footpaths per square kilometre, and the sea within 5 km. It is a character grade and isn’t part of Heage’s overall grade.
Where Heage’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks and green space: Ordnance Survey OS Open Greenspace (parks and gardens, playing fields, play spaces, and their access points). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- National Parks and National Landscapes: Natural England and Natural Resources Wales boundaries, areas and designation dates, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Footpaths, walking routes, beaches and things to do: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License (ODbL), via Geofabrik, 16 October 2026.
- Historic parks, listed buildings and monuments: Historic England, National Heritage List for England, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Rain and temperature: Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for the town; daylight calculated from its latitude.
- The sea: ONS Countries (December 2024) boundaries clipped to mean high water. Residents near a park: ONS Census 2021 output areas.
- Grade: TownRatings’ Outdoors Grade, ranked against UK towns only.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.